Mail-pouch rack.



V. WILLOUGHBY.

MAIL POUCH RACK.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.2. 1914. 1,224,823. B11611911 11a.y1,1917.

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TlNTTED @TTES PATENT FFT@E,

VICTOR WILLOUGHBY, OF JEFFERSONVIIILE, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR 'IO AMERICANCAR .AND FOUNDRY COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION VOF NEWJERSEY.

MAIL-POUCH RACK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 1, 1917.

T0 all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, Vieron VVILLOUGHBY, residing at Jeersonville, Clarkcounty,In diana, and being a citizen of the United States, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Pouch Racks, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and to use thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which illustratethe preferred form of theinvention, though it is to'be understood thatthe invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shownand described, as it is obvious that various modifications thereof willoccur to persons skilled in the' art.

In said drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved mail pouch rack. j

Fig. 2 is an end elevation thereof.

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are plan, front elevational and side elevational views,respectively, of one of the double hooks.

Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are similar views of one of the single hooks; and

Fig. 9 is a substantially horizontal sectional view, diagrammaticallyillustrating the support of a pouch.

To properly accumulate into orderly groups a confused mass ofintermingled elements of variously designated lots, as, for example, thesets of mail matter received in disordered state by a postal, or othersystem, and addressed to different localities, is so difficult andimportant a task that mechanical contrivances are indispensable aids.

My present invention constitutes such an aid, relates to mail pouchracks, and has for an object the provision of a rack of the classreferred to which shall be in constant condition for service withoutmanipulation or adjustment ofits parts. j

Another object is to combine with a simple frame, constructed ofinexpensive commercial materials, a requisite number of pouch-holdingdevices of such similar, rugged and easily produced design, that therack as a whole will be too incomplex to be subject to disarrangement,breakage, or the cost of devices of this class which are Constructed ofa greater number of parts, or which require more expensive manufacturmg.

` It is also purposed to so arrange the pouch-holding devices thatpouches suspended therefrom will, upon the simple action of attachingthem, adjust their openings to give maximum ingress to their interiors.

t Other advantages which may appear herematter are obviously a part ofthe present conception and are to be understood as com` ing within thescope of the invention herein disclosed.

In the drawings, 1 indicates a top frame or rack, inclined upwardly asit proceeds towardthe rear and comprises spaced parallel supportingmembers, or tubes, 2, 3 and 4, and connecting end members. Each endmember preferably comprehends segmental tubes 5 united by a fitting, asthe pipe-T 6, which joins said end member to the central supporting tubeor member 3, and side outlet elbows 7 at the outer ends of the tubes 5,joining the end member to the front and rear supporting members, 4 and2, respectively, the side outlet of each elbow 7 being directeddownwardly;

Connected at their upper ends to said depending side outlets of elbows 7are corner posts or tubes 8, to the lower portions or extremities ofwhich are secured fourway T-ittings 9, a tubular or other shaped bottomend tie member 10 joining the fittings 9 of the front and rear uprighttubes 8 at each end of the structure as a whole.

Running longitudinally are front and rear bottom tie members, shown at11 and 12 in Fig. 2, which connect respectively, the front corner postsand the rear corner posts.

A boxlike skeleton structure is thus produced, comprising the top frameor inclined rack 1, a front frame, a back frame, a pair of end framesand a bottom frame, resulting in a strong, rigid and unyieldingconstruction, which may be suitably raised from the vfloor by plugs 13,or other devices, as casters, secured to the bottoms of fittings 9.

The top frame or rack 1 has already been described and the front framecomprehends front supporting member 4: of rack 1, forward elbows 7thereof, front corner posts 8, forward four-way T-ittings 9 and frontbottom tie member 11.

The back frame is similar to the front frame, the rear supporting member2 of rack l, rear elbows 7, rear cover posts 8, rear four-way T-iittings9 and the rear bottom tie member 12, duplicating the corresponding partsof said front frame.

The end frames are also alike, and each comprises one of the endconnecting members which has its tubes 5 united by T-fittings 6, a frontand rear elbow 7, a lfront and rear corner post 8, the four-wayT-fittings carried by each of the latter and the end bottom tie member10 connecting said fittings. rIhe bottom frame comprises the front andrear bottom tie members, both bottom end tie members, and the four-wayT- fittings 9 which connect all of the bottom tie members together.

Mounted upon each of the front and rear supporting members, 4 and 2,respectively, of rack 1, are pluralities of single pouch hook devices13, and carried in a like manner by the central supporting member 3 aredouble pouch hook devices 14, equal in number to the single hook devicescarried by each of the other supporting members, and adapted tocooperate with said single hook devices carried by both the front andrear supporting members, 4 and 2.

Each single and double pouch hook device, 13 and 14, is provided with anattachment portion 15, here illustrated as a tubeembracing member.Positioned to extend to one side and below the attachment portion 15 ofeach single hook device 13, is a horizontally disposed L-shapedpouch-sustaining hook 16 of angular cross section, connected to theattachment portion 15 of the same hook device-13, preferably by anintegral hanger 17, shown in the drawings to be horizontally disposedand to merge both with the attachment portion 15 and the vertical flangeof that part of the L-shaped hook 16 which parallels said attachmentportion.

Double hook devices 14 have the same construction as the single hookdevices 13, except that each is supplied with a pair of oppositelyextending L-shaped pouch-sustaining hooks 16a, instead of the singlehook 16 of devices 13, and all of the correspond- 4ing parts exceptthe-hooks have been designated by the same reference numerals.

Both the single and double hook devices 13 and 14 are arrangedtransversely of rack 1 in alined rows, and longitudinally of theirrespective supporting members, 2, 3 and 4, in relatively widely spacedassociated pairs, said pairs being closely positioned to each other toconserve the space included within the area of the rack 1.

Hooks 16 and 16a, of hook devices 13 and 14, each have a portionparalleling the axis of their attachment portions 15, and anotheroutwardly extending portion continuing beyond a bend at substantiallyright angles to the first mentioned portion. When said hook devices arepositioned in the rack 1 as `With a portion of the edge of saiddescribed, the outwardly extending portions of hooks 16@ project towardthe corresponding portions of hooks 16 of the single hook devices 13,which are transversely alined with said double hook devices 14.

Said axis-paralleling portions of each associated pair of the hooks 16,which are carried by the same supporting member 2 or 4,

`project toward each other, as do the corresponding portions of hooks16a of associated pairs.

In consequence of these conditions, rack 1 contains a series ofgroupedpouch-sustaining hooks 16 and 16a, each set forming the 'corner anglesof an imagina-ry rectangle, thus creating an intermittent circuitousframe, and being adapted to sustain a pouch. Suitably mounted, as uponsupporting members 2 and 3, are label holders 18 for holdingdestination-indicating labels for the various hook sets adapted tosupport pouches.

To suspend a pouch from any of the sets of hook devices, its opening isfirst distended, and points in the edge thereof are hooked over thehorizontal flanges of, say, an associated pair of hooks 162L located onthe same side of the central supporting member 3, as diagrammaticallyindicated in Fig. 9, where the pouch is indicated by A. openingextending to inclose, bear against and conform to the vertical flangesof the associated pair of hooks 16a, and lapping and resting upon thehorizontal flanges thereof, the front side or edge of the opening of thepouch is drawn forwardly and upwardly and caused to lap and rest uponthe horizontal flanges of associated hooks 16 of the affiliated singlehook devices 13.

In some instances, the pouch opening may be stretched so that it willnaturally contract after such stretching, and assume a relation to hooks16 and 16a approximately that shown in Fig. 9, but for greater reliance,the draw-string B may be pulled to cause the perimeter of the pouchopening to closely engage the vertical flanges of said hooks 16 and 16a,and the ends of said drawstring may be fastened, as by a slip-knot, toinsure the maintenance of the relationship of the pouch opening and saidhooks.

The removal of the pouch involves only a loosening of the pouch openingand a slight manual freeing action upon the part of the attendant.

Obviously, the rack may have other forms and capacities than that shown,best suited to the needs of any particular installation.

What I claim is In a device of the class described, a central supportingmember and additional supporting members spaced therefrom on oppositesides thereof, and llongitudinally spaced pairs of constituentpouch-holding devices carried by each supporting member, alinedtransversely of said members and grouped into sets each adapted to holda pouch with its opening expanded each pouch-holding device having ameans for girdling one of said supporting members, those devices carriedby the outer supporting members being each provided with a singleinwardly extending L-shaped hook of angular cross section and meansconnecting the same With the girdling means of said device, and thosedevices Carried by the central supporting member each being providedvvith a pair of oppositely extending L-shaped hooks of angular crosssection and 15 means for connecting the pair of hooks to the girdlingmeans of said device.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of tWoWitnesses.

VICTOR WILLOUGI-IBY.

Witnesses:

ALLEN W. CLARKE, C. B. BEEsoN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

